Blogs from Idaho, United States, North America - page 2

The road from Pierce to Wallace is one of the best known sections of the Idaho route. Everyone does it. Access is easy from either end. It is very beautiful, with creeks and forest and old railway lines and mountain villages. North of Pierce I faced the usual mix of gravel and track, ridge and climb, drop and turn, getting closer to the North Fork of the Clearwater and the Dworshak reservoir. The best part was the signs for the bridge over the river -- known as the Grandad bridge -- pointing for Grandad to go here, or there. I instinctively obeyed. As with previous reservoirs, this one seemed over half gone, with multiple sand rings circling the lake from the line of forest down to the water. All of the reservoirs were affected by the ... read more

This portion of the BDR through the Nez Perce - Clearwater National Forest is well known as the most difficult, the most scenic, the most historic -- and the route most prone to fires. It follows an old Nez Perce trail through the Clearwater mountains from the valley of the Bitterroot River to their lands in what is now Western Idaho. Lewis and Clark took advantage of the trail in September 1805, two hundred and sixteen years ago. They walked the ridge in September, the same time of year as I was there, The journey through the Clearwater mountains is referred to as one of the most difficult sections of Lewis and Clark's entire journey, mainly because it was all on foot. Recently, signs have been erected along the Motorway, commemorating events from the Lewis and ... read more

The route has a series of "must see" points along the way. One of them is an old school bus abandoned in the middle of the forest, and then shot full of holes for good measure. I reached this soon after leaving Burgdorf. Can't wait for the next one, the "Blue Cabin", a hut with kitchen and beds left open for riders to camp in, on the trail between Pierce and Avery. Kind of the opposite in intent and visual attractiveness. The Salmon River cuts Idaho in half. Today's route took me down to the river, and straight up the other side to Elk City. The road down to the Salmon, called the French Creek road, is a 3,000 foot drop of continuous switchbacks. The hillside has been cleared, unlike climbs earlier in the ride, so ... read more

Scrambled eggs for breakfast at the cafe was sooo good. Outside was cold -- down in the 40s. The season was finally changing. I'm sure the fire-fighters were thankful. I had trouble with this section -- not so much the road, which was challenging -- but with the scenery. I was forced to stop countless times to take pictures, as the mountains, streams and lakes unfolded before me. I knew it would pall, and that I would get used to this wonder, but now it was overwhelming. Traveling alone, I didn't have to argue about frequency and time used (some say wasted) taking endless photos. At one of my stops I met another guy, also traveling alone. Had a nice chat, but didn't join up -- we both prefer it that way. The trail had its ... read more

I started early to avoid the trucks -- but they start early too. As the sun came up I was headed North out of the valley of the Great Salt Lake, turning slowly West along I-84. The high desert plateau was a clear light brown and grey, exaggerating the contrast between irrigated land and desert. As the houses fell behind and the landscape cleared, so did the highway. The ride became a joy. Idaho farmers make the desert bloom, with the kind assistance of the Snake River. We reached the Snake and I decided to see what it looked like at Twin Falls. Sorry. Wrong choice. Most of the river had been diverted into irrigation canals, or the power plant, and the famous Twin Falls ran dry. The alfalfa farms looked great. I hadn't realized Idaho ... read more